2a) how much does # of days really matter? Is there a noticeable difference between dry hopping for 4, 7, 10, or 14 days before bottling?

2b) what happens if you dry hop for "too long"?

3) how long does it take for hope pellets to settle out? If I only dry hop for 4 days, won't I end up with hop particles in the bottles? If so, is that a problem?

Thanks!

1. No. One ounce is twice as much as 1/2 ounce.

2. Not really- once the hops "give up" their aroma, there isn't any benefit to keeping it longer. Four days might be a bit short, though.

2b. I've heard "grassy" flavors can develop, but I've never had a problem when I've dryhopped in the keg. Of course, that's at less than 40 degrees so maybe that's the difference. I've never gone longer than 14 days in a fermenter.

3. It takes about a week for most of the hops particles to settle out, but some will stay afloat. I like to put the end of my siphon 1/2 way down into the fermenter and siphon from the middle, until the top floaties meet the bottom sludge, then stop siphoning. Any hops particles still around settle to the bottom of the bottling bucket after that, but it's possible that you could still have a couple of particles in the finished product. It doesn't really matter, they'll settle into the yeast sediment eventually.

__________________Broken Leg BreweryGiving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

Ok, but then why do some recipes call for dryhopping with a certain amount AND a certain amount of time? I figured it was because of something like AROMA = AMOUNT X TIME. Therefore half the amount for double the time would be equivalent to double the amount for half the time.

Ok, but then why do some recipes call for dryhopping with a certain amount AND a certain amount of time? I figured it was because of something like AROMA = AMOUNT X TIME. Therefore half the amount for double the time would be equivalent to double the amount for half the time

No, that's not the way it works. Sometimes some hops are "stronger" so you'd use less. Or, you want less aroma in certain beers with certain hops.

Some beers have a "fine" hops aroma, and some are over-the-top hoppy. That's a reflection of what kind, and how much of the hops are used.

The time doesn't really matter- once they've given up their goodness, it won't get better. Some beers have you hop with X hop for one week, remove and add X hop, so that you can get the full aroma from both.

__________________Broken Leg BreweryGiving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

I generally dry hope for at least 1 week. My last batch, due to time constraints, I only dry hopped for 4 days then bottled. In the end there wasn't the aroma I expected and I ended up with a lot of hop particles in my bottles. The beer still tastes good, but I wish I would have dry hopped for longer.

I add my dry hops (in a hop bag) in the secondary four days before I intend to bottle. I know that others earlier in the thread like to dry hop longer, but for my tastes, around four days is the right length. Variety is a great thing!